Summary:
The Nevada School District in Arkansas is a small, rural district serving 426 students across two schools: Nevada Elementary School (grades K-6) and Nevada High School (grades 7-12), where every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, indicating significant economic challenges.
Nevada Elementary School is the district's academic bright spot, particularly in mathematics where 42.8% of students are proficient, close to the state average of 44.1%. A standout finding is a dramatic "4th Grade Peak," where 4th graders in 2025-2026 scored above state averages in all subjects—including 65.7% proficiency in math versus 47.0% statewide—though this success drops sharply in 5th grade. In contrast, Nevada High School struggles significantly, with only 18.3% proficient in math and a crisis in advanced courses: 0% of students are proficient in Geometry and just 7.4% in Algebra. Despite these low scores, the high school boasts a very low dropout rate of 0.5% and a graduation rate of 84.8%, suggesting a focus on keeping students enrolled.
Key metrics reveal a paradox: the district spends heavily per student ($14,387 at the elementary, $13,194 at the high school) and maintains very low student-teacher ratios (6.9:1 at the high school), yet academic outcomes remain below state averages. However, both schools show year-over-year improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with elementary ELA rising from 22.3% to 36.3% and high school ELA from 18.4% to 23.2%. This positive trend, combined with high spending and low dropout rates, suggests recent interventions may be taking hold, even as the district grapples with the profound impact of poverty on academic achievement.
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